Don't go in the garden shed...

I think that garden/tool sheds have a definite masculine energy. While men might consider them a necessity, a utility space for their tools, mowers, etc and think of them fondly,  I find them spooky. I never open the shed door without wondering what might have crawled inside and is waiting for me. Too many movies, I suppose. 

But I wanted to see if there was an additional rake inside before going off to buy a new one, so I (deep breath) took the padlock key and set off (camera in hand) on my quest. No rake (at least not the type I needed), so as I closed the doors, I turned to look at the house. Seemed so far away. No-one would hear me scream.

Then and Now

I visited my sister-in-law last week and she had boxes (and boxes) of old photos from her sister who passed away last year.

There was a photo taken of the back of my house; not sure of the date, but the house was still very new (lower left corner). So many changes and additions have taken place over the years. There were other photos of me and my in-laws sitting on the patio. I tried to think back at what I felt about my life at that time. Being caught up in children, school and career, I think I felt that the best was yet to come. The early years of a marriage, parenthood and finding one's way in the world seem to be a struggle when you're in the middle of the storm. But there are no guarantees that when you get the kids through school or when you get the promotion you wanted, that life will be a breeze. 

There have been some very good years between these two photographs. Did I recognize that when I was living through them?

In the 'hood

As you can see, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The leaves are slow in changing color this year - possibly because the hot weather stayed through September?

I looked at the utility bill lying on my desk this morning and realized that I still haven't put the utility accounts in my name... more loose ends that seem to get pushed aside as they aren't critical to daily life. But I know that to be thorough I need to take care of these types of things, so I'd better start a list.

But there's a more urgent problem that needs to be addressed... squirrels have eaten a hole through the siding and into the garage attic area, so I need to A) figure out how to cut a small piece of wood to cover the hole and B) nail it into place. It won't be pretty...